If you have the occasional flutter with a bookmaker then it’s almost guaranteed that, at one time or another, somebody has crowed the below words to you.

‘You never see a poor bookie’.

It’s true, the house will always win but that’s from the masses and not necessarily the individual. If you know what you’re doing, then there are very legitimate ways to beat the bookie every single time and here’s how it’s done.

Matched betting in brief

In very simplistic terms, matched betting is the process of covering all possible outcomes of a bet thus ensuring at least one of your selections is a winner.

The trick is to ensure you find events with odds reasonably close together and with odds as big as possible because this offers up the most balanced approach to big wins. 

Finally, you’ll need to utilise free bet offers given out by bookmakers to give you enough leverage to turn genuine profit. Thankfully, there are a vast amount of new sign up and loyalty offers out there to make regular cash.

So, what am I betting on?

In a word, anything. It helps to have an interest and an understanding in the event you’re betting on because it helps keep you motivated and enjoying the process, but the logic works across pretty much any sport and most markets so it’s not a requirement.

You’re not limited to single bets either, although getting into accumulators does bring slightly more complexity.

For the purpose of our guide, we’ll focus on NBA online betting, taking BetAmerica as an example.

The process

Placing a qualifying bet

In nearly all instances you will need to place a bet with genuine funds to unlock your free offer. To do this, follow the steps as below but use the smallest odds possible – ensuring you meet the minimum odds as specified in the offer terms and conditions.

The initial bet – ‘backing’

The ‘back’ bet is what most people would consider your standard play. Let’s use the weekend fixture of Orlando Magic and the Toronto Raptors; in the eyes of the odds, the match is a reasonably close encounter.

The ‘back’ element would be betting on one of those teams, we’ll say Magic, to win. When placing this wager, you’d use your free bet ensuring no actual cash is at stake.

The safety bet – ‘laying’

Now you’ve backed Magic to win you need to cover the other possible outcomes, which in this instance is a Raptors victory or, the much less likely, draw. If you’ve only dabbled in standard betting, you’re probably thinking that’s a further two bets. Think again.

There are such gambling websites known as ‘betting exchanges’; on these platforms you have the ability to place a ‘lay bet’. This is simply betting against an outcome; you won’t bet on the Raptors but instead will bet in a manner that says ‘Orlando Magic will not win’.

This bet, unlike the ‘back’ one, will be secured with your own money but don’t worry because you’ve now got all possibilities covered meaning winnings – and profit – will be appearing in one of your accounts.

Final tips

First of all, you don’t have to worry about managing all of this alone as there are plenty of tools out there. Some of them will charge you but you’ll cover your costs with ease.

Finally, if it is not included in the tool you opt for then be sure to keep a log of your bets elsewhere and, depending how big you intend to go, consider a separate bank account too.

There you have it, you’re now equipped with everything you need to take on the bookies and earn yourself some extra dollar!